St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin County gets new executive director

A new executive director took the reins this week at the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin County.

Blase Bova began his new job Tuesday at the nonprofit, replacing Novato resident Steven Boyer as the organization's leader. Boyer retired after serving the society for 16 years.

St. Vincent de Paul serves 500 to 700 meals each day in the local nonprofit's kitchen at 820 B St. in San Rafael.

"Last year, we did a total of about 250,000 meals," said Christine Paquette, director of development.

The San Rafael nonprofit focuses on helping people gain access to food, affordable housing and employment.

Before moving to Marin, Bova was the programs director for the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Phoenix. He worked for the Arizona nonprofit for 15 years, serving the largest St. Vincent de Paul society in the country.

Bova said he's excited to put his skills to work in San Rafael.

"I'm very honored to have been chosen," Bova said. "I hope the breadth of my experience will give me a good background to move into this role."

The St. Vincent de Paul program is special to him because it's completely run by trained and dedicated volunteers. He said everything is based around volunteerism, a concept he's passionate about.

Bova was born in Burbank, but grew up in St. Louis. He has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in sociology from the University of Missouri. He's fluent in both English and Spanish.

Bova moved to Marin with his wife, Gabriela, who has also worked with St. Vincent de Paul, and their 17-year-old son, Andres.